AXT Sees Unusually Large Options Volume (NASDAQ:AXTI)

AXT Inc (NASDAQ:AXTI) was the recipient of unusually large options trading activity on Monday. Traders purchased 19,027 call options on the stock. This is an increase of 57% compared to the typical daily volume of 12,114 call options.

AXT Trading Down 2.8%

Shares of NASDAQ:AXTI traded down $1.82 on Monday, hitting $62.36. The company had a trading volume of 6,024,733 shares, compared to its average volume of 9,979,004. AXT has a 1-year low of $1.13 and a 1-year high of $71.49. The stock has a market cap of $3.47 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of -130.43 and a beta of 1.51. The stock has a 50 day moving average price of $41.27 and a 200 day moving average price of $22.31.

AXT (NASDAQ:AXTI) last released its quarterly earnings data on Thursday, February 19th. The semiconductor company reported ($0.05) EPS for the quarter, missing the consensus estimate of ($0.04) by ($0.01). AXT had a negative net margin of 24.07% and a negative return on equity of 9.50%. The company had revenue of $23.04 million during the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $24.24 million. Sell-side analysts anticipate that AXT will post -0.12 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

Several analysts have issued reports on AXTI shares. Craig Hallum reaffirmed a “buy” rating on shares of AXT in a research report on Friday, January 9th. Wedbush upped their price target on shares of AXT from $8.50 to $28.00 and gave the stock an “outperform” rating in a research report on Friday, February 20th. B. Riley Financial upped their price target on shares of AXT to $21.00 and gave the stock a “neutral” rating in a research report on Friday, February 20th. Wall Street Zen upgraded shares of AXT from a “sell” rating to a “hold” rating in a report on Saturday, February 14th. Finally, Needham & Company LLC downgraded shares of AXT from a “buy” rating to a “hold” rating in a report on Tuesday, January 20th. Two analysts have rated the stock with a Buy rating, two have given a Hold rating and one has issued a Sell rating to the company. According to data from MarketBeat, AXT presently has an average rating of “Hold” and a consensus target price of $22.80.

Insiders Place Their Bets

In other AXT news, CEO Morris S. Young sold 37,905 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction on Friday, March 13th. The shares were sold at an average price of $51.13, for a total transaction of $1,938,082.65. Following the sale, the chief executive officer directly owned 2,275,328 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $116,337,520.64. This represents a 1.64% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The transaction was disclosed in a legal filing with the SEC, which is available through this hyperlink. Also, Director David C. Chang sold 20,000 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction on Tuesday, March 10th. The stock was sold at an average price of $46.00, for a total transaction of $920,000.00. Following the sale, the director directly owned 72,744 shares in the company, valued at $3,346,224. This trade represents a 21.56% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The disclosure for this sale is available in the SEC filing. Over the last three months, insiders have sold 502,278 shares of company stock valued at $21,196,754. 5.97% of the stock is currently owned by corporate insiders.

Hedge Funds Weigh In On AXT

Several institutional investors and hedge funds have recently modified their holdings of the business. CloudAlpha Capital Management Limited Hong Kong acquired a new position in shares of AXT in the fourth quarter valued at about $22,738,000. Alyeska Investment Group L.P. acquired a new position in shares of AXT in the fourth quarter valued at about $20,187,000. Jane Street Group LLC grew its stake in shares of AXT by 1,314.6% in the fourth quarter. Jane Street Group LLC now owns 904,599 shares of the semiconductor company’s stock valued at $14,790,000 after acquiring an additional 840,650 shares in the last quarter. Maytree Asset Management Ltd acquired a new position in shares of AXT in the fourth quarter valued at about $11,156,000. Finally, Assenagon Asset Management S.A. grew its stake in shares of AXT by 2,404.5% in the fourth quarter. Assenagon Asset Management S.A. now owns 574,828 shares of the semiconductor company’s stock valued at $9,398,000 after acquiring an additional 551,876 shares in the last quarter. 49.52% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

About AXT

AXT, Inc (NASDAQ: AXTI) is a global supplier of compound and single-element semiconductor substrates, offering a range of materials critical for high-performance electronic and optoelectronic devices. Founded in 1986 and headquartered in Fremont, California, AXT specializes in the development, manufacture and distribution of wafers composed of gallium arsenide (GaAs), indium phosphide (InP), gallium nitride (GaN) and other compound semiconductor materials. These substrates serve as the foundational platforms for devices used in data communications, wireless infrastructure, advanced computing, consumer electronics and photovoltaic applications.

AXT’s product portfolio encompasses a variety of wafer sizes, dopant concentrations and crystal orientations, tailored to meet the precise specifications of its customers.